Ch.3 Sec. 1 The Country’s First Government

STATE GOVERNMENTS In 1776, New Hampshire became the first colony to organize as a state and to write a constitution. Other colonies followed suit. Most of these legislature were bicameral or were divided into two parts. Each state has a governor and courts .

THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION A confederation is a group of individual state governments that unite for a common purpose. Articles of Confederation was written by Congress in 1777 and became the first constitution of the United States of America. It created one house legislature in which each state had one vote known as the Confederation Congress. (Bicameral) It controlled the army and had the power to deal with foreign powers on the behalf of the states.

THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCES The Confederation Congress passed the Ordinance of 1785 to set a plan to divide up western lands. (Ohio Valley) The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was passed to set up governments in the northwestern area. This ordinance also provided a plan for admitting new states to the Union.

WEAKNESS OF THE ARTICLES The Congress could not pass a law unless nine states voted for it. Any attempt to amend, or change, the Articles required all 13 states to agree. Such strict voting made it difficult to do anything. Congress had little power to enforce laws when they did pass. The Congress also could not force taxes on the states. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxYHW8Jr0Ng

SHAY’S REBELLION The United States was in debt after the American Revolution. Citizens were taxed heavily by states. Trade between the states and other countries slowed and people began to lose their jobs. In 1786 & 1787 riots broke out within the colonies. Daniel Shay led a rebellion of 1,200 in Massachusetts. The rebellion was quickly squashed but many asked for a stronger national government. 1787 representatives met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ImIEcsTEVo